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Support Group > Visualization:
3D Modelling > Software
There are many software packages available for 3D modelling. Some are
commercial products, while others are free and/or open source. Some
even include animation and game creation capabilities. Here are some of
the most common packages:
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Blender - Blender is a
free, downloadable, fully integrated 3D graphics package. Capabilities
include modelling, animation, rendering, post-production, real-time
interactive 3D, as well as game creation and playback. Blender has
cross-platform compatibility with Windows (98, ME, 2000 and XP), Linux,
SGI Irix 6.5, Sun Solaris 2.8, FreeBSD 5.3, and Mac OS X. For more
information, see the Blender
homepage.
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Wings 3D - This is a
free downloadable polygon mesh modelling package. Compatible with
Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other Unix systems -- requires OpenGL.
See the Wings3D
homepage for more.
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Rhinoceros - Rhino can
create, edit, analyze, and translate NURBS curves, surfaces, and solids
in Windows. It also offers limited support for polygon meshes. However,
there are no limits on complexity, degree, or size. Compatible with
Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000. Learn more here.
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3ds max - Autodesk's
commercial modelling, animation, and rendering package (for Windows
2000/XP). See the product homepage here.
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Maya - A commercial (now
from Autodesk) 3D modelling, animation, effects, and rendering package
(for Windows 2000/XP Professional, Mac OS X, and Linux). Find out more
at the homepage.
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form·Z - A
general-purpose commercial modeller published by auto-des-sys, with an
extensive set of 2D/3D form manipulating and sculpting capabilities.
Find out more at the form·z
homepage.
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truespace - A commercial
package with a built-in particle system, metaballs, UV editing, and
physical simulation (for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, 2000, XP). See the trueSpace
homepage.
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Bryce 3D - Another
commercial package for designing, rendering and animating models.
Particularly good for environment creation (for Windows NT 4/2000/XP,
Mac OSX 10.2 or later). Learn more at the Bryce
5.5 homepage.
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Lightwave 3D - A popular
commercial package for 3D graphics and animation (for both Windows
2000/XP and Mac OS 10.3.3). See the Lightwave homepage here.
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Carrara - A package that
includes five rendering engines, seven different modellers, multiple
animation tools, an advanced shader editor, special effects, sky
environments, and over a thousand high-quality 3D models and textures
(for both Mac OS 10.1 and Windows 2000/XP/ME). The homepage for the
Carrara family of products can be found here.
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SketchUp - Available in
a limited free and a full-featured version, SketchUp is a simple-to-use
tool for creating and viewing 3D models. For Windows XP, 2000, NT 4.0
and Mac OS X 10.3. Visit their site
for further details.
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modo - Developed by the
team responsible for Lightwave 3D, modo is a commercial polygon and
subdivision surface modeller with advanced rendering features.
Luxology's site
has more information.
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SoftImage 3D - A
commercial package oriented heavily towards animation and character
production. Its interactive modelling toolset includes polygon, patch,
NURBS, and Meta-Clay geometries (for Windows XP Professional and
Linux). Visit the SoftImage homepage
for more details.
Questions, comments, or suggestions should be directed to research.support@ualberta.ca.
Revised: August 29, 2006
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